Ronaldo leads Real to the brink of La Liga title
Cristiano Ronaldo (right) congratulates teammate Karim Benzema on his goal. Benzema goes on to score a brace against Sevilla at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid.— Reuters picMADRID, April 29 — Cristiano Ronaldo struck his 43rd league goal of the campaign to set Real Madrid on their way to a 3-0 home win over Sevilla today that put them within a whisker of a first La Liga title in four years.
It was a much-needed return to winning ways for Jose Mourinho’s side after the shock of Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final elimination by Bayern Munich, and they could clinch the title later today should second-placed Barcelona lose at Rayo Vallecano (7.30pm British time).
Karim Benzema contributed a quickfire double early in the second half as Real moved on to 91 points with three games left, with Barca, whose three-year stranglehold on the Spanish title is almost certainly drawing to an end, 10 adrift on 81.
The holders were also dumped out of Europe in midweek, losing 3-2 on aggregate to Chelsea on Tuesday, and were stunned three days later by the news that coach Pep Guardiola was stepping down after four years, during which he led the team to 13 trophies. — Reuters
